Rottweiler

Rottweilers can do well with children who already know how to be calm and gentle. Expect a big dog that is moderately active, sheds a normal amount and needs very little grooming. The big catch is running cost — this is one of the pricier dogs to keep well.

Source: American Kennel Club breed standard.

Rottweilers descend from Roman drover dogs left behind in southern Germany, where they drove cattle to market and — the detail everyone remembers — carried the butcher's takings home in a purse around the neck, because nobody was going to take it off them. The modern breed is calm, confident and enormously strong, and deeply bonded to its own family. It is not a dog that suits a first-time owner, not because of aggression but because of sheer physical power combined with a guarding instinct that has to be shaped early and consistently. Note the life expectancy: 9–10 years is short, a giant-breed pattern, and Rottweilers also carry meaningful rates of hip dysplasia and certain cancers.

Day to day. Moderately active — a proper daily walk plus some play in the garden or the hallway keeps this breed happy. On noise, it is about average for noise.

The coat, honestly. This breed sheds a normal amount and needs very little grooming. A brush a few times a week and the occasional tidy-up keeps it in good order.

Being left alone. Fine alone for a few hours. A few hours is fine; a full working day, every day, is asking a lot.

Training. Trains at an average pace. Consistent, reward-based training from day one does most of the work.

• You want a dog whose coat looks after itself
• You have room for a big dog and a car it actually fits in

• A surprise vet bill would be a real problem this year
• You are in a flat, or nobody can physically hold this dog on a lead

Every animal is an individual, and plenty of Rottweilers live long, healthy lives. This is here so nobody is surprised — ask a vet, and ask whoever you get the dog from what they have tested for.

Rough running cost: $$$ (one of the pricier dogs on our list) — because it is a big dog, so food, medicines and anaesthetics all cost more, and the breed has known health issues that can mean extra vet visits.

Those are relative bands, not live prices. For real numbers across every pet we cover, see the pet cost study and the cost calculator.

Rescues do have Rottweilers and Rottweiler crosses, usually adults whose size, coat and temperament you can see rather than guess at.